Tom McCauley didn't plan on making house calls when he started in the music business.
As a recording engineer, McCauley made a good living working out of the many commercial studios that had grown up throughout the Los Angeles area to serve the music, film and television industries.
But with the advent of software that allows high-end recording from a personal computer, the 53-year-old Sherman Oaks resident has traded the quasi-industrial atmosphere of the commercial studio for his customers' garages or living rooms.
On a recent Monday afternoon McCauley opened a wooden gate to the backyard of a Valley Village house, walked past a pool and into a studio converted from a guest house. He sat in front of dual computer monitors, opened up Pro Tools recording software and tested microphones.
“The old days were big budgets, top-of-the-line equipment and 'How do you want your espresso and can I get it for you?' “ he said. “I do miss that a bit. And at the time, even just 10 years ago, it didn't seem like that could ever end, ever go away."
Although nobody officially tracks the number of recording studios, the consensus among industry experts is that the big commercial facilities have taken a major hit. They estimate that as many as half of the L.A. area's commercial studios have closed or been sold to artists for private use.
A key reason is that recording software emulates what old studio consoles and tape recorders used to do -- at a fraction of the price. Among the most widely used programs are Avid Technology Inc.'s Pro Tools, Steinberg Media Technologies' Cubase and Apple Inc.'s GarageBand.
“You used to patch everything into a big console. Now you can plug everything into a computer," he said. “And editing music using tape wasn't easy. Now you just click and drag a mouse across the screen."
